Black History Month was founded by Carter G. Woodson.
Brett Woodson Bailey is Carter's great-great-great-nephew.
Brett discovered his connection to the father of Black history when he was in middle school.
Brett is a student at UC Santa Cruz and plans to become a wildlife biologist.
Brett's cousin Craig Woodson is nearly six decades older than him and is white.
Craig's family story changed in 1984 when he bought a stamp honoring Carter and learned about his family's legacy of enslavement.
Craig is an ethnomusicologist and an expert in African drumming.
Craig was initially afraid to reveal his family's connection to slavery to his Black friends.
Craig was eventually introduced to Brett's grandfather, Edgar Woodson, who is related to Carter.
Brett is learning to reconcile his family's past with the present and that one's ancestors do not define them.